WINTER HAVEN | The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has officially identified two skeletons found in a Winter Haven orange grove as Ronkeya Holmes, 29, and her 3-year-old daughter, MaSarah Ross, according to Winter Haven Police Chief Gary Hester.

By RYAN E. LITTLETHE LEDGER

WINTER HAVEN | The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has officially identified two skeletons found in a Winter Haven orange grove as Ronkeya Holmes, 29, and her 3-year-old daughter, MaSarah Ross, according to Winter Haven Police Chief Gary Hester.

The bodies were found Dec. 22, 2010, after being led to the grove by the wife of the suspected killer.

Lester Ross, 33, is being held without bond in the Polk County Jail on a witness tampering charge stemming from the case.

Police have said evidence indicates MaSarah died in May 2009 while staying with Lester Ross, who is her father. Her body was kept in a freezer in Ross' house until Holmes drove to Winter Haven in October 2009 from her Georgia home after she had grown tired of excuses about the whereabouts of her daugh-ter.

Police said Holmes was poisoned by Ross, and the two bodies were then taken to an orange grove.

Until recently, the remains were at a University of Florida human identification lab for DNA testing to positively identify the two, although Hester could not say whether the skeletons were positively identified there or at another lab.

FDLE officials were unable to verify the identification Wednesday.

Typically, police would use dental records to identify the two skeletons, but Hester said police couldn't find dental records for Holmes, and it appeared MaSarah had never been to a dentist.

"We were tired of waiting. We wanted to know why it was taking it so long," said Edith Fletcher, who is Holmes' mother and MaSarah's grandmother. "I think now (the official identification) will just give the family closure. At least now we will know where they are.

"Not knowing where (the bodies) were was the hardest part."

Police say Lester Ross forced his wife, Sharon Ross, to drive him to the orange grove to bury the bodies and later wrapped a cord around her neck and threatened to strangle her if she told anyone what she'd seen. Those actions led to the witness tampering charge.

State Attorney's Office spokesman Brian Haas said no new charges had been filed against Lester Ross. Hester said he expects the office to move forward with charges soon.

"We have said from the day that we unearthed the mother and the baby from the orange grove that this was Ronkeya and MaSarah and all this does is forensically prove (it)," Hester said.

"I'm sure the family is very relieved to bring a proper burial to their loved ones. I'm really sorry this has taken so long but our goal has been to ensure that we hold the killer accountable for the vicious killing of MaSarah and Ronkeya."

Lester Ross told The Ledger in January that he didn't kill anyone. Attempts to reach his lawyer, F. Wesley Blankner Jr. of Orlando, Wednesday were unsuc-cessful.

The remains of the mother and daughter are at Holmes Funeral Directors in Haines City, awaiting transport to Alma, Ga., where funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday at First Community Church.

[ Ryan Little can be reached at ryan.little@theledger.com or 863-401-6962. ]